On Monday, Circuit Court Judge Alan D. Lancaster heard several pleas at the Carrollton Courthouse.
A woman charged with two counts of drug possession came before the judge to enter a guilty plea in a case brought forward by the Attorney General’s office. Criminal Appeal lawyer Ashely Sulser represented the state.
According to Sulser, Lauren Courtney Brooks, 36, is accused of obtaining drugs in 2019 from her then workplace Grenada Rehabilitation and Health Center on two separate occasions.
Assistant District Attorney Rosalind Jordan gave the recommendation of six months probation with completion of a drug rehabilitation program. She also recommended that the charges be dismissed with prejudice if the rehabilitation is completed after the six-month probation period.
Brooks’ attorney, Jimmy Powell of Horan and Horan, informed Judge Lancaster that she had already completed rehabilitation.
Judge Lancaster accepted the plea and the state’s recommendation for her sentence.
A Carroll County man charged with breaking and entering pleaded guilty before Judge Lancaster.
Lee Hollingsworth, 39, was charged for the 2021 attempted theft of an ATV. According to Jordan, after the owner of the property requested that the Sheriff’s Department install game cameras after several apparent break-ins. According to the arrest report, deputies placed cameras on the property on Nov. 12 after receiving a call from an unnamed informant “that an ATV and some farm equipment was going to be taken.”
On Nov. 26, deputies chased two men on two different ATVs–a red one and a black one. A man matching Hollingsworth’s description was apprehended from the black side-by-side, according to the report, which also stated that Hollingsworth was already wanted for grand larceny. The red ATV was recovered after the other male subject ran from law enforcement.
Jordan recommended Hollingsworth serve five years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) on probation. Judge Lancaster accepted his plea and the recommendation but stated Hollingsworth could not serve any other probations, alongside his five-year sentence.
“If you’re called before me to have your probation revoked,” said Judge Lancaster, “you will serve five years in prison.”
A man charged with being in possession of a controlled substance also pleaded guilty.
Cornelius Spearman, 30, pleaded guilty to being in felony possession of methamphetamine. According to Jordan, Spearman was discovered with the drugs on his person during a traffic stop carried out by the Mississippi Highway Patrol. She recommended three years for his sentence–one under house arrest and the next two on probation. Judge Lancaster accepted his plea and also accepted the state’s recommendation.
A Grenada man, Jerry Lucas III, 31, pleaded guilty to the charge of being in possession of stolen property with no intent to return. Jordan recommended he spend five years under the supervision of MDOC, with three under house arrest and two on probation, as well as the restitution fee of $2,995.66 to the owner of the property. Judge Lancaster accepted the plea and the recommendation.
